Spring attachment for vehicle-springs.



A. (JOLLETTE.

SPRING ATTACHMENT FOR VEHICLE SPRINGS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB.24,1913.

Patented Feb. 16, 1915.

WITNESSES:-

A TTOHNEY earners. GOLLETTE, or BROCKTOIN, (MASSACHUSETTS.

SZPRING ATTACHMENT FOR VEHICLE SPRINGS,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 16,1915.

Applieation ,filed February 24, 1913. Serial No. 750,219.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR CoLLETTE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Brockton, county of" Plymouth, and State of Massachusetts,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Spring Attachmentsfor, vehiclerSprings, of which the-following is a specification.

This invention relates to shock absorbers, and may be more particularlyidentified with that class ofdevices as .are' commonly used in,connection with vehicle-springs.

The, primary object :of my invention, is .to provide an auxiliaryattachmentforvehicle springs, for the purpose of relieving the vehiclesprings of'any, violent strains when the vehicle is traveling over roughroads.

A further object of myv invention is to provide a device ofsuchconstruction as to obviate the violent rebound of a vehicle body,which commonly occurs when the vehicle is precipitated suddenly in a rutor hole in the road.

Astill .further object ofmy invention, is to provide, a device of theclass described, which may be easilyand quickly applied to a vehicle. intheeventof any ofthe springs upon the vehicle being; broken, and whichwilltemporarily. prove'an efficient substitute. for the-usual vehiclespring.

With-these objects in view, together with others which-will appear asthe nature of the invention is better understood, my invention comprisesa resilient member, which is adapted to'be inserted within an ellipticalor. semielliptical vehicle spring, to relieve the vehicle spring of thesevere strain incident to travel over rough roads, and which also,through its novel construction, obviates the incessant noise whichusually accompanies such strains.

My invention further consists in a resilient member, shown in thepresent instance in connection, with a semielliptical vehicle spring,which, under normal conditions, is inactive and free from'- engagementwith the vehicle body, butwhich is immediatelyv operative to accomplishthe desired resultwhen the vehicle encounters rough uneven roads.

Inthe drawings forming a part of this specification Figure 1 is asideelevation of a portion of a vehicle body and spring, and in which isillustrated'my improved shock absorbing attachment. Fig. 2 is ahorizontal section taken upon the line w-m of Fig.

1, showingn y device upon, an enlarged scale.. Fig, 3 1s a fragmentaryvertical section-taken upon the-line y-y of Fig. 2. Fig.- t isa. plan vview of a modified form of the resilient member used in connection withmy device, and Fig. 5 is a view similar to F ig. 4t showinga .furthermodification.

Referringnow more particularly to the drawings, 1 represents generally avehicle body, mounted through the knuckles 2 of the spring 3 upon thevehicle axle 4. The vehiclebody, springs and axle, forming nopartofmyinvention, and being shown only for the, purpose of illustratingthe application of my improved device, may be. of any of: the. usualwell known constructions, a spring of the semi-elliptical type beingshown in the presentinstance.

Myyimproved shock absorbing device consists generally of meansinterposed between the axle and the body of the vehicle, for relievingthe vehicle, springs of excessive strains and shocks when the saidvehicle receives severe jo1ts, andcomprises a resilient member 5 in theform of a coil spring. This member ispre ferablyv conical in shape, thelowermost coilof which is adapted to rest upon and-besecured to thespring. or axle, while the upper end, or apex, is adapted to support asubstantially soft resilient pad or bufi er to deaden the noise whencontacted by the vehicle body, It is obvious that on '7 account of thevibration of theaxle, and also on accountof the blows received by theshock absorber, it-is necessary to provide a substitute base for thespring 5, and means for securely holding the samev in position. To thisend I fiatten the lowermost coil of the spring, bringing the entire.convolution into substantially the same plane, and extending a portionof the convolution to form a radially disposed arm 6 and over which isadapted to fit one of the. clips or U-bolts 7 of the vehicle spring 3.-The end 8 of the arm- 6 isturned upwardly to form a retain ing member toprevent the coil spring from accidentally workingout in the event of theU-bolt becoming loose. The upper end or apex oftheficoil spring isformed at 9 to inclosethe shank 100f a retaining bolt 11, for securingthe I bufierv 12 in position. The buffer may be formed of any resilientnonabrasive material, rubber being employed in the presentinstance,and-is secured upon a plate 13 by the retaining members 14:. The bolt,11 passes through the central portion of this plate and through theupper coil 9 of the spring 5, to be held rigidly thereto by the nut 15.This improved shock absorbing device as will be observed is thussecurely held in position upon the axle or.

vehicle spring, and extends upwardly therefrom, terminatingsubstantially below the wagon body 1.

WVhen the vehicle is traveling over smooth roads the elliptical springs3 will bear all of the weight of the vehicle body and will be sufficientto absorb all of the gentle vibrations of the axlebut when the course ofthe vehicle is over uneven roads, the vibrations of the heavy vehiclebody will cause the springs 3 to flatten or straighten out considerablyand in the downward movement of the body, the shock absorbing device iscontacted and further lower movement thereof is arrested. Thus thedanger of broken springs is entirely eliminated as the improved shockabsorbing device prevents the vehicle body from assuming a positionclose enough to the axle to subject the vehicle springs to such severestrain. The interposition of the auxiliary coil spring between the axleand vehicle body, also, in arresting the downward movement of thevehicle body, prevents the violent rebound of the vehicle body, which isso dangerous to the springs used in connection with vehicles of thistype.

Fig. 4: of the drawings illustrates a slightly modified form of myinvention, and in which is shown the downwardly extending arm 6 rebentupon itself at different points, to form a substantially larger engagingsurface for the U-bolts 7 and the outer longitudinally extendingresilient portions of which are adapted to yieldingly engage the U-boltto prevent any lateral movement of the shock absorber should the .U-bolt become loose. The ends of the arm 6 are bent upwardly as at 8' in amanner similar to that in the preferred form of the device to doublyinsure against accidental displacement of the device.

Fig. 5 illustrates a further modification of the manner in which thelowermost coil of the spring 5 may be constructed, to form a moreextensive base, and whereby itmay be more efliciently secured to therunning frame of the vehicle. This form illustrates the lower coilformed into arms 16 and 17, extending in directions diametricallyopposite from the coil spring 5 and being bent upwardly as at 8"adjacent their extreme ends as in the above described forms of theinvention. The purpose of this construction is obvious,,since theoppositely extending arms may each be held securely in position upon thespring 3, by the U-bolt 7, and hence lend more rigidity and firmness tothe coil spring 5. I

While in this specification and drawings I have described andillustrated my device in its simplest and most concise forms, I wish itto be understood that I need not necessarily restrict myself to theexact forms set forth, but may make such minor changes and alterationstherein as may fairly fall within the scope of my claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a vehicle having the usual body, axle and interposed spring, acoil spring mounted adjacent said spring and extending verticallytherefrom, the lowermost coil of saidcoil spring being flattened andextended to form an arm, means upon said vehicle spring for detachablyengaging said arm, the end of said arm being turned up whereby saidengaging means will be prevented from becoming accidentally disengagedtherefrom, and a buffer mounted upon the opposite end of said coilspring, substantially as described.

2. In a vehicle having the usual body, axle, and interposed spring, saidinterposed spring being secured to said axle by U-bolts, a coil springmounted upon said spring and extending vertically therefrom thelowermost coil of said coil spring being extended to form an arm to beengaged by said U- bolt, means upon said arm whereby said U- bolt willbe prevented from becoming accidentally disengaged therefrom, and abuffer mounted upon the opposite end of said coil I beneath said U-bolt,means upon said spring arm to prevent said coil spring from becomingdisengaged from said U-bolt, and a buffer mounted upon the opposite endof said coil spring, substantially as described.

l. In a vehicle having the usual body,

axle, and interposed spring secured to said axle by U-bolts, a coneshaped coil spring mounted upon said spring and extending verticallytherefrom, the lowermost coil of said coil spring being greater indiameter than the width of said interposed spring and being extended andbent upon itself to form a spring arm of such dimension laterally as toyieldingly engage the shanks ofsaid U- bolt when secured thereunder,substantially as described.

5. In, a. vehicle having the usual body, axle and interposed spring, acoil spring mounted adjacent said spring and extending vertically.therefrom, the lowermost coil of said coil spring being bent to presentoppositely extending arms, means upon said vehicle spring for detachablyengaging said In testimony whereof I have signed my arms the ends ofsaid arms being turned up name to this specification in the presence ofwhereby said engaging means Will be pretWo subscribing Witnesses.

vented from becoming accidentally disen- ARTHUR COLLETTE. 5 gagedtherefrom, and a buffer mounted Witnesses:

upon the opposite end of said coil spring, GEORGE W. FoLsoM, Jr.,

substantially as described. GELosE COLLETTE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

